This invention relates generally to manufacturing of Micro Electromechanical System (MEMS) devices, and more specifically to, attaching getter devices to the MEMS devices.
Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) integrate electrical and mechanical components on the same substrate, for example, a silicon substrate, using microfabrication technologies. The electrical components are fabricated using integrated circuit processes, while the mechanical components are fabricated using micromachining processes that are compatible with the integrated circuit processes. This combination makes it possible to fabricate an entire system on a chip using standard manufacturing processes.
One common application of MEMS devices is in the design and manufacture of sensor devices. The mechanical portion of the sensor device provides the sensing capability, while the electrical portion of the sensor device processes the information received from the mechanical portion. One example of a MEMS device is a gyroscope.
One part of the MEMS production process involves the packaging of operational portions of the MEMS device within a housing, which is hermetically sealed to provide a preferred operating environment for the MEMS device. Getters are sometimes utilized in the packaging process and attached to the housing, in an attempt to maintain the preferred operating environment for the MEMS device (i.e. removal of water vapor and oxygen, for example).
However, getters can generate particles that can interfere with and be detrimental to operation of the MEMs device. In one example, a MEMS gyroscope and other MEMS based inertial devices can be exposed to high-G forces that may increase an amount of particles that become released from the getter.